Leopufele (Leo-puff-el)

Káto Flying Squirrel

Káto is no stranger to those creatures that wish to capture and kill their prey in the most painful and slow ways possible. Basilisks, Black Mantis, and other seemingly larger than life creatures follow this line of thought, capturing their targets through petrification, suffocation, and other horrendous ways. The large dangerous creatures that are most recognizable are often not the most deadly in Káto. The small seemingly harmless ones that hide in the dark recesses of the ceilings and floors of the cavernous tunnels may be the most deadly yet.
The Leopufele is one such creature. More commonly known as the Káto Flying Squirrel, these creatures can fit in the palm of the hand and are reminiscent of the small flying squirrels that can be found in the forests on the surface. Their appearance is out of place in the dark depths of Káto, but like all creatures that live within this harsh environment, they harbor a dark secret that allows them to survive against the ever-increasing odds.
Under their bushy and cute exterior, the Leopufele harbors one of the deadliest poisons of Isekai. The fur of their tail hides a barb, that when in danger, the creature can use to inject a highly toxic poison into those that wish to cause the creature harm. This poison will inflict a short time of lucid dreaming that is full of terrible nightmares before slowly killing the inflicted through suffocation. While a less terrible death than many creatures of Káto can grant, the Leopufele and its poison are known to take down a troll or other enormous creatures with a light brush of the poisoned barb.

Basic Information

Ecology and Habitats

The Leopufele's natural habitat is in the dark caverns of Káto that are roughly three to ten days travel from the surface world, meaning they live in some of the middle depths of Káto. Much like the burrowing ground squirrels of the surface, these creatures make their homes by burrowing into the giant stalactites that hang from the ceilings of caverns, putting them out of reach of most other creatures. Due to their size, the Leopufele are often mistaken as prey by both creatures and people, but due to their potent poison and ways of hunting, the Silver Elves have designated the creature one of the many apex predators of Káto.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Leopufele are ravenous creatures, often looking for large prey, such as Landsharks, Basilisks, and others, for their meals. These creatures live in large groups, swooping down upon a large creature, creating a distraction, while often the smallest and fastest of the group drops upon the prey to poison it. Once the prey has been poisoned, the group moves back towards the cavern ceiling to wait for their prey to succumb.
Once the prey of the Leopufeles has died, the group then swoops to the corpse, quickly disassembling it like a school of piranhas. Each bone is cleaned and left, with no trace of the meal that the small creatures had partaken in. This ritual takes place every one or two days, based upon the types of prey that the Leopufele can find close to their homes.

Leopufele

Leopufele by Image via Midjourney, created by Riverfang

Leopufele are most commonly found in Káto, but few have made their way to the surface with traveling Silver Elves. These creatures' coloration allows them to hide amongst other rodents on the surface while their fur hides a poision barb.

Known As

Káto Flying Squirrel

Geographic Distribution

• Káto

Related Ethnicities

• Silver Elf Culture

Storybook System Creature Sheet

Name Leopufele

Form Winged

Type Beast

Size Tiny

Location Káto

Leopufele by Image via Midjourney, created by Riverfang

0

Might

12

Agility

0

Magic

5

Heroism

10

Heroism Points

20

Stealth

15

Observation

Speed

Land 2

Climb 3

Swim 1

Fly 5

Jump 1

Strengths & Weaknesses Leopufele are immune to the following conditions: None.

Leopufele are small, swarm predators that can be extremely dangerous due to their hunting tactics, speed, and deadly poison. Leopufele are not generally dangerous as a single creature due to their size and lack of strength, their poison is considered to be one of the most deadly in the world though. Avoidance is often the best course of action against a large swarm of Leopufele.

Skills Exceptional Senses - Leopufele possess exceptional sight. Even if a threat is hiding in the dark, it can still be seen. When using sight in areas with anything less than bright light, a Leopufele's Observation Rating doubles.

Tiny Stealth - The creature's size makes it possible to hide nearly in plain sight unless the light level is considered bright. Their stealth rating doubles unless the light is considered bright light level.

Glider - Leopufele do not have the ability to gain altitude with their flight. For every 2 spaces of movement (10 feet), they will lose 1 space (5 feet) of altitude.

Leopufele Venom Sting - Leopufele have a venomous stinger in their tail, when they attack they will inject this poison into the bloodstream of their victim. The resist rating to avoid the Poisoned condition is equal to their attack roll.

Behaviour These creatures live in Káto, away from as many sources of natural light as they can. Because of this, they have little in the way of a day and night cycle. They resemble rodents that make their homes in the cracks and ceilings of the vast underground network in Isekai.

While considered quite dangerous in their swarms, Silver Elves will often use them as singular pets or harvest their venom for application to their weaponry. While hunting, these creatures will fly from the ceiling of larger caverns without making a sound and land on a victim by the dozens to sting them before jumping off and fleeing. They will continue this practice for the course of an hour until their victim succumbs to the venom and collapses to become their well-earned meal.

Unless hungry, these creatures will generally not attack travelers or anyone with a bright light source. They prefer to hunt solitary targets, of considerable size, that stray into large dark caverns where the most Leopufele can descend upon them at once. If a target flees, then a few scouts will chase after it and watch from a distance until it collapses only to let out ecstatic squeaks of glee to call upon the rest of the nest to devour their prey. Large animal carcasses are often stripped in a matter of minutes by these large colonies of venomous rodents.

Due to the danger of their venom and small size, they have few natural predators that would dare to challenge their large groups.

Actions

Attack

• Leopufele use Agility to attack. A Leopufele glides down onto or falls onto or climbs up onto a target. If it glides more than 2 spaces before taking the attack action then it will gain +10 to its attack roll.


• A target that succumbs to the poisoned condition from Leopufele venom will deteriorate quickly, this must be cured using magic or an antidote otherwise they will lose Heroism Points every turn of combat (1/10th) or outside of combat they will be dead within the hour.

Block

Leopufele are unable to block, their weak bodies dictate that they favor dodging.

Dodge

A Leopufele will favor dodging all attacks whenever possible.

Difficulty Difficulty Level: Simple (easily handled by a party of 4 Tier 0 Characters)

To Increase Difficulty: Increase the number of Leopufele and have them descend in droves of a dozen or more.

Possible Encounter Ideas: A single Leopufele can be more of a Social Encounter as they have been taken in as exotic pets by travelers in the past. A swarm of hungry Leopufele are dangerous to the more experienced travelers due to the effectiveness of their venom and their great numbers. Such encounters should be unlikely unless a group has invaded or threatened their nest.